A healthy weight can contribute to a healthy mentality, which in turns leads to better physical health.

Reducing Chronic Illnesses

1. Reduces your risk for Type 2 diabetes – Those with type 2 diabetes consistently have shorter life spans. Being obese or overweight puts you at a high-risk for Type 2 diabetes. However, even losing a small amount of weight helps reduce that Type 2 diabetes risk dramatically. And if you already have diabetes, weight loss can often mean needing lower amounts of insulin and experiencing fewer blood sugar spikes.

2. Reduces your risk of cancer – Recent studies have shown a correlation between higher levels of body fat and a higher risk of several types of cancer. Research is ongoing as to why there is a correlation; however, it is thought that body fat contributes to inflammation in the cells. This inflammation makes the cells more susceptible to cancerous cell changes. In one Scottish study, obese women who lost an average of 20kg reduced their risk of cancer by almost 40%.

3. Healthier heart – Obesity is considered one of the primary factors of early cardiovascular disease. Body fat, especially the kind that gathers around the waist, is shown to have an adverse effect on blood pressure and blood lipid levels. This in turns contributes to fat and plaque building up in the blood streams, which contributes to heart disease.

Efficient Body

4. Protect your organs – Our organs need a specific type of fat known as visceral fat. A small amount of visceral fat surrounds and protects the organs from anything that jars the body. However, once you start to get too much fat, what was once protecting becomes damaging. Increased fat pushes on the organs and makes them less efficient. Once the organs become damaged, it can lead to multiple and chronic health conditions.

5. Healthier breathing – Having lungs that work efficiently can help you live longer by properly delivering the right amount of oxygen to the body on a consistent basis. Being overweight or obese can cause impaired lung function. Here’s what happens: Too much weight can lead to lung construction, asthma, COPD, or emphysema. When this happens, the lungs don’t properly deliver oxygen to our bodies and brains. This often leads to early death. In fact, COPD is one of the leading causes of death in many developed nations.

6. Better sleep – Once thought to be not-so-important, research is showing us just how necessary high quality sleep is. People who get enough high quality sleep live longer and have a reduced risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s. That’s just a fact. Unfortunately, people who are obese or significantly overweight often report problems falling asleep or getting enough sleep. This may be due to a decreased level of immunity, issues with breathing, such as sleep apnoea, or issues related to chronic disease. One bonus: Those who get both quality and quantity of sleep often show fewer physical signs of aging in terms of reduced wrinkles.

Healthy Mentality

7. Better sex life – Those who are happy with their body weight tend to have more and better sex. There are so many physical benefits to having a healthy, active sex life. It is not only good exercise that keeps abdominal and back muscles in shape; it also revs up the metabolism and releases wonderful feel-good hormones. When it comes to living longer, sex improves circulation, promotes cardiovascular fitness, reduces stress, increases oxygen levels to your body and is related to a lower risk of atherosclerosis.

8. Mental sharpness – Studies are now showing us that a higher level of body fat can lead to a faster mental decline. Memory becomes dulled. Logical reasoning processes become slower. Attention becomes less sharp. And there are even studies that show that obesity is related to negative physical structure changes in the brain. These types of negative cognitive changes are correlated with a shorter life span, as they can lead to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Weight loss can help reverse some of these negative changes.

It’s important to realize that even though weight loss can increase your life span, this only works for those who are overweight to begin with. Losing weight to the point that you are unhealthily thin is just as dangerous as being overweight. You should strive to manage your weight in a healthy fashion so that you are at an optimal physical condition.

Hi! I'm Zara Henderson, a certified fitness instructor and nutrition coach. I'm addicted to healthy living and generally write about weight management, fitness, exercise and food as well as the latest celebrity health trends.

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